Quote:
Originally Posted by rubydoodle
We tow our TM 3023 with a 2005 Sienna. We live on the edge of the Great Smoky Mt. National Park. We have been pleasantly surprised at how well our Sienna tows. We try to pack light -- grocery shopping when we arrive at camping destination and carrying no water (except in hot water heater). We are thinking about getting a Honda Ridgeline or a Nissan Frontier truck before we head out West. The going down steep grades bothers me a whole lot more than going up! We go down in a lower gear, but it sounds like the engine is going to explode. Does anyone know if this hurts the TV in any way? I know it helps the brakes!
Kay
2004 TM 3023
2005 Toyota Sienna
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You have identified the real issue with towing with a marginal vehicle. It only takes one time of over-heating the brakes and encountering brake fade. If this happens in the mountains, you'd better know how to pray. That will be your only tool available. Once brake fade occurs, it only get worse. It doesn't go away on its own. It is sometimes fatal.
It is far better to go slow down a steep grade, keeping your TV in low gear than trying to keep your speed down with the brakes. The Toyota Sienna has marginal brakes for towing in mountains. You may want to look into Carbon Metallic or Ceramic brake pads. They will withstand and dissipate heat better. I noticed that most ceramic pad manufacturers do not recommend their pads for towing. They are mainly used for racing and they
may have a problem with adhesion to the backing plate under the severe strain of heavy loads.
I know that a lot of people use ceramic pads for towing but after some research, I opted for carbon metallic. I just get the feeling that the manufacturers know something that I don't (with their advertised warning). However, I haven't been able to verify the reasoning behind the warning.
As for the engine revving at high RPM while going down-hill.....it will only be harmful if you over-rev the engine. As long as you stay below the max RPM rating for the engine, you should be OK. It's not as harmful as constant-revving under the load of full-throttle. You don't have the extreme stress and heat build-up.